Christopher Mead Sells 3,500 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) VP Christopher Mead sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:AJG traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $259.45. 1,340,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,222. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $313.55. The firm has a market cap of $66.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.03, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 46.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,248,000. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth approximately $329,000. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.6% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 10,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $4,017,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,453,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.